Alameda Research: The Crypto Firm Behind 47% of USDT Creation
Alameda Research, a major crypto trading firm, has been revealed to have a significant role in the creation of new USDT tokens. According to Coinbase director Conor Grogan, Alameda has minted 39+ billion USDT tokens since September 2020, which is about 47% of the total supply.
USDT, or Tether, is a stablecoin that is supposed to be equal to the US dollar and is widely used in the crypto market. However, USDT has been criticized for its lack of transparency and accountability. Many skeptics and regulators doubt that Tether has enough fiat reserves to back up its USDT tokens.
Alameda’s role in USDT minting has sparked controversy and suspicion in the crypto community. Alameda is also the parent company of FTX, a leading crypto exchange that offers various trading products and services. Some people suspect that Alameda could be using USDT to manipulate the market or to boost its own trading volume.
However, Alameda has denied any wrongdoing and said that it is only providing liquidity and arbitrage opportunities for the market. Alameda’s CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, said that his firm is not creating USDT out of thin air, but rather exchanging USDC, another stablecoin, for USDT at a small premium. He also said that Alameda does not hold any USDT tokens and that it is not affiliated with Tether.
